Wednesday, January 30, 2008

WSDOT crews struggle to keep I-90 Snoqualmie Pass highway open

WSDOT was able to reopen one lane in each direction at 11 a.m. this morning. Crews were hard at work early this morning clearing snow from lanes of I-90 Snoqualmie Pass. Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond wanted the public to see how hard crews were working to get the highway open and this footage definitely shows that.

Unfortunately, just hours later at 2:45 p.m., a large naturally-occurring snow slide near milepost 51 just west of Snoqualmie Summit completely blocked the westbound highway. WSDOT and the Washington State Patrol closed the pass in both directions. The eastbound lanes were closed at milepost 34 near North Bend due to worsening snow conditions. Because the westbound lanes were blocked, snow removal equipment could not make the necessary circuits to keep the eastbound lanes open.

Weather forecasters predicted a lull through early afternoon today; however up to 24 inches of snow is forecast for the next 24 hours, requiring likely periodic pass closures for additional avalanche control work.

They do work long hard hours, unfortunately the state dosen't allow for something "extra" however they deserve our upmost respect for what they give up to keep the roadways safe,open & passable for us. All highway maintenance workers deserve a job well done! Its been a rough winter all across our state.